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The Little Gray Lady, by F. Hopkinson Smith
The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Little Gray Lady, by F. Hopkinson Smith This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: The Little Gray Lady 1909
Author: F. Hopkinson Smith
Release Date: December 3, 2007 [EBook #23695]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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THE LITTLE GRAY LADY
By F. Hopkinson Smith
1909
I
Once in a while there come to me out of the long ago the fragments of a story I have not thought of for years--one that has been hidden in the dim lumber-room of my brain where I store my by-gone memories.
These fragments thrust themselves out of the past as do the cuffs of an old-fashioned coat, the flutings of a flounce, or the lacings of a bodice from out a quickly opened bureau drawer. Only when you follow the cuff along the sleeve to the broad shoulder; smooth out the crushed frill that swayed about her form, and trace the silken thread to the waist it tightened, can you determine the fashion of the day in which they were worn.
And with the rummaging of this lumber-room come the odors: dry smells from musty old trunks packed with bundles of faded letters and worthless deeds tied with red tape; musty smells from dust-covered chests, iron bound, holding mouldy books, their backs loose; pungent smells from cracked wardrobes stuffed with mo